Lions general manager Martin Mayhew / Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

By Jamie Samuelsen

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

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Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the “Jamie and Wojo” show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter@jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.

What do you make of all this scuttlebutt about the Lions entertaining the idea of trading up in the draft to take Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins in the first round?

One of the biggest complaints you get from Lions players is that they hate to have the history of this franchise hung around their necks. And they’re right of course.

It’s not Matthew Stafford’s fault that the 2008 Lions went 0-16. It’s not Calvin Johnson’s fault that the team has won one playoff game in 57 years. And it most certainly isn’t Jim Caldwell’s fault that any of this has happened. He hasn’t even had his first mini-camp yet.

But if we excuse the current Lions the history of this team, can we at least ask the following favor? Would you mind learning from the history of the team?

The notion of the Lions trading up to land Clemson’s Sammy Watkins is one of the more intriguing story lines of the countdown to the draft. In the Lions defense, they are saying nothing about trading up or down in May. And they’ve worked out virtually every draftable player leaving most observers confounded by exactly what they’re going to do when the draft rolls around. Perhaps they have no intention of targeting Watkins or any wide receiver for that matter. Perhaps he’s far and away the No. 1 player on their draft board and they would move mountains to get the opportunity to grab him. We don’t know. We might never know. And given how much we normally criticize the Lions for what they actually do, it hardly seems fair to criticize them for what they might or might not do. So I won’t.

But I will say this — I would not move up to grab Watkins, no matter how good he looks.

Sorry, but I’ve seen this movie before back in a magical decade known as the Matt Millen era. We all know what he did. We all know who he drafted. And we all know how that panned out. Watkins appears to have more talent than any of the receivers Millen picked. And he probably has more than all three combined (which still isn’t saying very much.) Perhaps he’ll turn into a great NFL player. But that’s not what this draft is about for the Lions. The more important question is will he turn into a great Lion. And at this point in the franchise’s history, the only why he can earn than moniker is if the Lions win.

Johnson was drafted in 2007. Stafford and Brandon Pettigrew came along in 2009. Since that time, here are just some of the players the Lions have added through the draft or through free agency and trades to help Stafford and the offense — Titus Young, Jahvid Best, Mikel Leshoure, Ryan Broyles, Nate Burleson and Tony Scheffler. The Lions big splash last offseason was running back Reggie Bush. Their big splash this offseason was wide receiver Golden Tate. How much is enough?

The pro-Watkins camp will tell you that his skill will make the Lions offense unstoppable and that Stafford needs that added weapon to make his job easier. This is a big year for Stafford and much of the Lions fan base is decidedly skeptical of whether or not his abilities match his contract. I’m all for giving Stafford every chance to succeed. But at some point, he’s got to take that $15.8-million cap hit and make other players around him better. Not many quarterbacks already possess offensive weapons like Johnson, Bush, Tate, Pettigrew and Joique Bell. And I can pretty much guarantee you that if the Patriots, Packers or Saints had a core of weapons like that, they wouldn’t even think of chasing a player like Watkins in the draft. They’d look at their roster and look at the draft board and say, “I think we’re good on offense. Let’s look to shore up that defense a little bit — shall we?”

There are players to be had in this draft. And with the Lions currently slotted 10th in the first round, there will be players there who will help immediately. And perhaps one of those players will be like Eric Ebron from North Carolina or wide receiver Mike Evans from Texas A&M. Both of those are offensive players as well which goes against my theory that the Lions should look defense. But at least they wouldn’t be sacrificing picks, either this draft or next, that could be used to add depth to the roster overall.

Martin Mayhew has long held the philosophy of drafting the “best player available.” And Watkins might fit that bill. By all accounts he does. But Mayhew had his best draft yet last spring when he seemed to make more picks for need than he did for “best player available.” When Caldwell was hired, he was very clear that his mission in Detroit was to win right away. There was no talk of patience or rebuilding. If that’s the case, then the Lions need to fill holes on defense long before making a move on Watkins and investing more into the offense, which already includes some of the most explosive players in the division.

Watkins can play. He’ll be a heck of a pro. And if by some miracle, he were sitting there at 10, I’d grab him. But the Lions have specific needs and wide receiver isn’t one of them. So the thought of trading up to grab one is folly at best and dangerous at worst.